An adorable blonde moppet is on an African safari with her parents when the two of them perish in a cave-in. The girl is raised by the Zambouli tribe to be a mystical white warrior woman named Sheena (played as an adult by Tanya Roberts). Into Sheenas' life comes a wise ass journalist named Vic Casey (Ted Wass), who's come to Africa to do a story on a royal family member who plays football in America. Unfortunately, the gridiron star / prince (Trevor Thomas) is an evil bastard looking to control the region and the people, and get his greedy mitts on some titanium.
If one is looking for an arty, "Oscar bait" type movie, steer clear of this one. But if you're looking for simple, dumb, and deliberately campy fun, "Sheena" does deliver the goods. Based on the "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" comic, it has corn ball dialogue galore, some of it hilariously funny. "Mouths were made for eating. Why did you touch yours to mine?" Wass is a handsome but dorky leading man, with Donovan Scott as his comedy relief sidekick / cameraman. The film is wonderfully shot in widescreen, on location in Kenya, and features a rich, lovely score by Richard Hartley. The animal action is also first rate. But let's not kid ourselves: the main reason "Sheena" the movie exists is to give us some prime eye candy in the form of Roberts, who looks ravishing (and does some nudity, to boot). The fact that she's never been much of an actress won't matter all that much.
The action scenes are pretty well done, with lots of people shot with arrows and a number of impressive explosions. The supporting cast isn't memorable but they serve their purpose: Elizabeth of Toro has an effective screen presence as the tribe shaman, and the striking France Zobda is an amusing villainess. Overall, a silly but reasonable diversion.
Co-scripted by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., and directed by John Guillermin, who'd both previously worked on the 1976 version of "King Kong".
Six out of 10.
If one is looking for an arty, "Oscar bait" type movie, steer clear of this one. But if you're looking for simple, dumb, and deliberately campy fun, "Sheena" does deliver the goods. Based on the "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" comic, it has corn ball dialogue galore, some of it hilariously funny. "Mouths were made for eating. Why did you touch yours to mine?" Wass is a handsome but dorky leading man, with Donovan Scott as his comedy relief sidekick / cameraman. The film is wonderfully shot in widescreen, on location in Kenya, and features a rich, lovely score by Richard Hartley. The animal action is also first rate. But let's not kid ourselves: the main reason "Sheena" the movie exists is to give us some prime eye candy in the form of Roberts, who looks ravishing (and does some nudity, to boot). The fact that she's never been much of an actress won't matter all that much.
The action scenes are pretty well done, with lots of people shot with arrows and a number of impressive explosions. The supporting cast isn't memorable but they serve their purpose: Elizabeth of Toro has an effective screen presence as the tribe shaman, and the striking France Zobda is an amusing villainess. Overall, a silly but reasonable diversion.
Co-scripted by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., and directed by John Guillermin, who'd both previously worked on the 1976 version of "King Kong".
Six out of 10.